On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 1:08 PM John Maddock via Boost < boost@lists.boost.org> wrote:
I've often thought, that what Boost really needs is a "janitor".
I remember doing janitorial duties for some years :-)
The Janitor is someone who's qualified to mend just about anything that breaks, doesn't mind doing the boring jobs that no one else what's to do (at least not in their free time), and is willing to be told by others what jobs are the next priority. In the context of Boost that would mean something like:
1) Determine which libraries are being actively maintained.
2) Make sure all libraries have decent tests and CI running (yes, even the maintained ones, though they would be lower priority).
3) Make sure all libraries are still fit for purpose, and propose libraries that should be deprecated and removed from Boost, then Sheppard them through the procedure.
4) Where general purpose libraries need maintenance, work through the PR's and issues, plus any issues shown up during the addition of enhanced CI. The priority for which libraries to work on next should be decided by feedback on the mailing list (ideally it should be possible to vote on it, but we don't have the infra-structure for that yet).
5) Report back to the mailing list at regular intervals so folks know what's happening, and can help identify the next target for maintenance.
6) Be prepared to engage in some "emergency maintenance" when required, as in "library X has a showstopping issue and the maintainer is out on contract in Ulaanbaatar".
7) Where highly domain specific libraries need work (Graph!), agitate and cause general mayhem until someone with the right experience steps up to the plate and at least gives them a bit of modernization.
Of course the "janitor" need not be one person, and no one person need be the designated janitor for life! :)
Right.. But we are looking for someone to be the superintendent. Managing subordinate janitors who do most of the work. As the C++ Alliance is funding some of the subordinate janitors :-) -- -- René Ferdinand Rivera Morell -- Don't Assume Anything -- No Supone Nada -- Robot Dreams - http://robot-dreams.net